February 2010: Upon her departure from Kinshasa in June 2009 at the end of her stay in DRC, our Madame Doctor Joyce Hightower asked us "to not let go the use of solar cookers, because they have the potential in the future of Congo to save many people in a humanitarian fashion, especially by water pasteurization." Today her thoughts are confirmed by the invitation of African Energy. It was an opportunity that does not arrive every day, to see the seminars and trainings on solar energy in Kinshasa led by outside partners African Energy from the 15 to 16 of February. We participated in these trainings while the leaders (Steve, Patrick, and Lincoln) gave us materials what are rare in our country, so we have all we need to live more enlightened. We are happy to provide solar cookers for solar electricity to our villages and cities in DRC (solar pumps, solar projectors, public solar lighting systems) with a system of assistance that can respond to the needs of the rural and urban population. The American firm, to testify to our participation, gave us a certificate as "Entrepreneurs of Renewable Energy" in which dozens of people took part. The pioneers of solar cooking were numerous. There were many demonstrations of solar products, a good occasion and suitable moment to learn for poor countries who live in obscurity. - Sylvain Kimour Kalubi

Click photo for more information on this workshop in French

March 2007:Sylvain Kimour Kalubi of the Terre de la Paix group has been busy translating solar cooker information on the Solar Cooking Archive into several local languages. Kalubi and his colleagues have also been experimenting with various cooker designs, including the Twelve-Sided Parvati cooker, and have developed their own solar box cooker called the KIN 1. Kalubi has found advantages to using cassava (or manioc) flour instead of wheat flour for making paste. He says the cassava flour is cheaper in the Congo than wheat flour, and it makes a stronger glue for cardboard solar cookers. Contact:Terre de la Paix

Northern part of the country: Abundant rain most months and abundant firewood. Southern part of the country: Six months of abundant rain. Local sources of firewood are in the process of being depleted. The south is a good region for solar cooking. (Source: Juan Urrutia Sanz, 2010-Feb-15)